JORDAN SPIETH set a searing pace at the top of The Masters leaderboard – but Rory McIlroy insists he can catch the red-hot Texan despite struggling to get into his stride all day.

Spieth, who finished runner-up to Bubba Watson on his Augusta debut last year, sizzled in the humid Georgia heat with a stunning 64 that makes the 21-year-old the youngest first-round leader in Masters history.

His eight-under-par round is the lowest opening score since Greg Norman in 1996 and he is the first player to reel off nine birdies in one round at Augusta since Tiger Woods in 2011.

But Spieth – who went into this week as the man in form with a victory and two runner-up finishes in his last three events – will be chased all the way into today’s second round by a group of guys who have come as agonisingly close to pulling on the Green Jacket as he did 12 months ago.

Jason Day, who finished second and third in 2011 and 2013, lurks three shots back on five under along with Ernie Els (twice runner-up in 2000 and 2004), Charley Hoffman and Justin Rose, who came closest to Masters glory with a fifth place in 2007.

But defiant McIlroy, who couldn’t live with the pace of the early charge, warned he can still haul himself back into the hunt over the weekend, despite plodding to a pedestrian one-under 71.

Ernie Els is right in contention after finishing his opening round on five under (Image: REUTERS)

The world No.1 remained upbeat and admitted he was relieved just to get his first round out of the way after all the hype that has built up surrounding his bid to rack up a career Grand Slam if he can add a Green Jacket to his collection of Major titles.

McIlroy said: “It was nice to get out there and finally play. It was nice to get that first hole out of the way and relax and find my rhythm.

“It was a solid start. It could have been better, it could have been worse. Anything under par today is a decent score.

“If I can drive the ball the way I did today and hit a few iron shots closer, I should be right there.

“It was nice to pick up a couple of birdies on the back nine, on the par fives. So I’m pretty satisfied with today’s work. It could have been a round that got away from me.

“It was good to get into red numbers after day one and I feel with the way I’m driving the ball, if I can keep doing that and just be a little more patient with my iron play and give myself more opportunities, I’ll hope to be right there at the end of the week.

“I haven’t put too much pressure on myself. Look, I obviously know what I can achieve this week but I’m not letting myself think about it too much.

“I’m just trying to play it one round at a time and today was a pretty good day. I feel like I can do better but I’m happy after day one and I’ll go out and just try to do a little bit better tomorrow.”

Spieth was also striving to remain down-to-earth after a sensational round that saw him threaten for a spell not only the course record of 63 but also what would have been the lowest round in Major history.

He said: “I wasn’t aware what the course record was here, let alone that it actually would have been the lowest round in Major championship history.

“So that’s a little frustrating, because I played conservative on 15, taking out a hybrid instead of a four iron and I ended up bogeying the hole.

“But I’m certainly okay with the day. That is one of the best rounds I’ve ever played.”

On his current form Spieth will take some catching with a three-shot cushion but Els revealed his burning desire to finally break his Masters duck.

He said: “I’ve been working hard on a lot of things in my game to get it into a better shape.

“It takes a bit more self-belief and I think it’s coming through with rounds like this. I’ll keep grinding.”

Question -1 of 5Score -0 of 0

From which club did Aston Villa sign Christian Benteke?

McGhee has warned Scots stoppers not to let Benteke muscle them out at Hampden (Image: Getty Images)